Egypt and UAE continue joint military training

The Egyptian and Emirati armed forces have continued carrying out raids, ambushes and parachute jumping in the United Arab Emirates, as part of Zayed 1, a two-week long joint military exercise.(Photo from Army Spokesman Facebook Page)

The Egyptian and Emirati armed forces have continued carrying out raids, ambushes and parachute jumping in the United Arab Emirates, as part of Zayed 1, a two-week long joint military exercise.

The special forces of both armies trained on shooting “hostile targets” using live ammunition under a “competitive environment” which showed the troops’ ability to deal with hostile targets with “speed, precision and high efficiency,” a statement on Tuesday by the spokesman of Egypt’s armed forces said.

The air forces engaged in various aerial manoeuvres and the naval forces also engaged in a number of naval tactics and sailing formations during the day and at night.

The final stage of the military exercise is scheduled to begin within the next two days. The Egyptian military had announced on 2 March that the training had begun.

The deepening of military coordination comes at a time of increased cooperation between Egypt and the UAE, which saw an upturn following the ouster of former president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013. The Gulf nation joined its neighbours Saudi Arabia and Kuwait in expressing its support for Egypt’s transition, mostly through financial aid and loans.

After Saudi Arabia announced on Friday that the Muslim Brotherhood would be listed as a terrorist organisation; the UAE’s foreign ministry announced its full support for the Saudi decision, which comes after Egypt designated the Brotherhood as a terrorist organisation on 25 December.

In July, just two days after Morsi’s ouster, the UAE pledged a $1bn grant and a $2bn interest-free loan to help support Egypt’s transition. In August, Egypt received the first of two stimulus packages from the UAE, valued at EGP 29.6bn. The second, valued at $2.8bn (EGP 20bn), was delivered in January.

Earlier this year, Sedky Sobhy, second in command of Egypt’s armed forces, met with his UAE counterpart Hamad Al-Rumaithi to discuss ways of deepening military cooperation.